Cotton gin rib



P. E. HOPPER COTTON GIN RIB July 31, 1951 Filed Nov. 16, 1946 I E. HOPPER INVENTOR.

PRESSLEY A'r'roRNYs i atented July 31, 195i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEPressley E. Hopper,- Dallas, Ie'x'., assigiio'rof twr'ltyfsii 1561" cfitt0 Ariiifi Laura Hopper,

Dallas, TeX.

Application November 16, 1946, Serial No. 710,289

I 80mins.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in cotton ginribs.

One object of the invention is to provide an improvement of the ginningrib construction shown in United States Letters Patent No. 2,325,183,issued to me July 2'7, 1943. I

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved cotton gin ribhaving means for washing or cleaning the cotton lint and being of suchconstruction as to effect separation of said lint from the cotton seedsat the upper portion of the ribexternally of and adjacent the seed rollbox, thereby permitting flufling or straightening the lint carried bythe saw teeth by the washing means so as to remove extraneousmattertherefrom.

A particular object of the invention is to provide an improved ginningrib having a pronounced ofiset at its upper portion so as to form aspace adjacent the seed roll box for permitting sudden expansion of theseed roll immediately above the point at which the saw teeth pass fromsaid box whereby delinted seeds are separated and thrown outwardly fromsaid seed roll so as to be more readily discharged therefrom and toincrease the capacity of the ginning unit.

An important object of the invention is to provide an improved ribconstruction, of the character described, having a medial fin at itsupper offset portion intermediate the forward and rear surfaces of therib to form enlarged chambers or recesses adjacent fluid stream outletsand below the forward peripheral portion of the roll box so as to makepossible efficacious cleaning by the fluid streams of' the lint carriedinto the recesses by the saw teeth.

A further object of the invention is toprovide an improvedribconstruction, of the character described, wherein the provision of theenlarged recesses at the oifset portion thereof forms shoulders orflanges for deflecting" the-fluid streams and directing'the sameupwardly whereby said streams perform their cleaning action at thedesired location.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved ribconstruction, of the character described, having a fluid jet adjacentits oifset portion for directing a fluid stream laterally andupwardlythrough the space between adjacent ribs to prevent fine trash fromsifting therethroughinto the lint flue.

A construction designed to carry out the in vention will be hereinafterdescribed together with other features of the-invention.

p The invention will be more readily understodd from a reading of thefollowing specification and by reference to the accompanying drawing,wherein an example of the invention is shown, and wherein:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a cotton gin rib, constructed inaccordance with the invention, shown in relation to the seed roll boxand one of the gin saws,

Fig. 2 is afragmentary, sectional view of the upper end of the gin rib,-showing its fluid duct,

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional View, taken on' the line 3-3 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, perspective view of the upper end of the rib, and

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view, taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

In the drawing, the numeral I0 designates a portion of one of theginning saws, a battery of which are rotatably mounted in a conventionalcotton gin (not shown) below a roll box, indicated by the broken line H.Curved ginning ribs or elements [2 are disposed between the saws Ill inthe usual manner and each rib has its lower end secured to atransverselyextending rib rail l3. A similar upper rib rail or bar l4supports the upper ends of the ribs l2. As is well-known, the seed rollwhichaccumulate's in the roll box H is acted uponby the teeth l5 -of thesaws l0 stripping the lint from the cotton seeds. The delinted seeds arethrown outwardly from the seed roll and travel downwardly from the rollbetween the saws along the forward surfaces of the ribsto apointofdischarge (not shown).

In order to clean the lint carried by the saw teeth l5 from the roll boxbetween the ribs, streams of air, or other fluid under pressure, areadapted to be directed against said teeth in a direction opposite to therotation of the saws,

as set forth in my aforesaid patent. A plurality of openings l6 extendtransversely through the upper rib rail and air, on other fluid underpressure, is supplied thereto by suitable means, such as the conduit I!(Fig. 2). As will be' hereinafter more fully described, an enlarged,rearwardly offset head l'8 -is formed at the up* per end of each rib andis. bored to provide a passage [9 in communication with one oftheopenings 16. A pair of soutlet'portslor slotsiZl) communicatewiththe-lowerportion of the passage l9 and preferably extend laterallytherefrom at an angle to the-sides or lateral surfaces ofthe'head l8(Fig.-3-).., The ports 20 are preferably elongated andflared-vertically,,'-asshown dates seeds, limbs and other large trash,which.

might be pulled into the openings between the ribs by the saws, wherebycontinued rotation of-" the trash with the seed roll is permitted so asto eliminate choking of said rib openings and possible fires due tofriction.

Cleaning chambers or recesses 2| are formed in the side or lateralsurfaces of the head by reducing the width or thickness of the centralportion of said head intermediate the outlet ports 20 and the forwardsurface of the head to provide a medial fin 22. A substantiallycontinuous, curved flange 23 bounds the rear, lower and forward marginsof each recess 2| and one of the ports 20 extends through the rearportion of each flange in communication with the recess. The fln 22extends above and below the ports whereby the recesses are of amplifiedarea and provide chambers adjacent the point at which the saw teeth passfrom the roll box between the ribs for facilitating the cleaning of thelint carried by said teeth. Due to these recesses or chambers, the lintis permitted to straighten or fluff up and thereby increase the cleaningaction of the fluid streams. It is preferable that the lateral surfacesof the fin be tapered rearwardly and inwardly toward the ports so as todirect the fluid streams outwardly toward the saws (Figs. 3 and 4). Themarginal flanges 23 not only tend to confine the air streams but alsodirect the same upwardly toward the saw teeth.

In order to prevent fine trash from sifting downwardly in the openingsbetween adjacent ribs, it is desirable to direct fluid jets or streamsupwardly through said rib openings. Such a jet may be provided by asmall orifice 24 extending upwardly and outwardly at an angle from thepassage [9, as is most clearly shown in Fig. 5.

' From the foregoing, it will be readily apparent that an improved ribconstruction has been provided for facilitating the cleaning of lintcarried by the teeth of ginning saws. This cleaning is accomplished byfluid under pressure externally of the seed roll box in amplifiedcleaning recesses orchambers wherein the lint has an opportunity tostraighten or fluff up, thereby enhancing the cleaning action. Due tothe construction of the rib, the fluid streams are directed upwardly soas to carry off trash and extraneous matter removed from the lint bysaid streams. By offsetting the head of the rib, sudden expansion of theseed roll is permitted to release and separate out delinted seeds.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof andvarious changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in thedetails of the illustrated construction may be made, wherein the scopeof the appended claims, without departing from thespirit of theinvention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a cotton gin having a roll box and a battery of ginning sawstherebelow with ginning ribs disposed between the saws and meansdirecting fluid under pressure against the teeth of said saws in adirection opposite to the rotation thereof, a. ginning rib constructionincluding, a curved rib element having its upper end offset rearwardlybeyond the contour of the roll box to provide a space behind the rollbox for permitting sudden expansion of the seed roll so as to separateand discharge clean seed therefrom.

2. In a cotton gin having a roll box and a battery of ginning sawstherebelow with ginning ribs disposed between the saws and meansdirecting fluid under pressure against the teeth of said saws in adirection opposite to the rotation thereof, a ginning rib constructionincluding, a curved rib element having a rearwardly oifset upper portionintermediate the fluid directing means and the point at which the sawteeth pass from the roll box between the rib elements to provide a spacefor increasing the cleaning effect of said fluid directing means uponthe cotton lint carried by said saw teeth.

3. In a cotton gin having a roll box and a battery of ginning sawstherebelow with ginning ribs disposed between the saws, each ginning ribhaving its upper portion ofiset rearwardly beyond the contour of theroll box, means in the offset portion of the rib for directing fluidunder pressure in a direction opposite to the rotation of said sawsadjacent the'point at which the saw teeth pass from the roll box betweenthe ribs for cleaning the lint carried by said teeth, and means formedin said offset portion for receiving and deflecting the fluid upwardlytoward said saw teeth.

4. In a cotton gin having a roll box and a battery of ginning sawstherebelow with ginning ribs disposed between the saws, each ginning ribhaving its upper portion offset rearwardly of the roll box, means in theoffset portion of the rib for directing fluid under pressure in adirection opposite to the rotation of said saws adjacent the point atwhich the saw teeth pass from the roll, box between the ribs forcleaning the lint carried by said teeth, means formed in said offsetportion for receiving and deflecting the fluid upwardly toward said sawteeth, and means communicating with the fluid directing means anddisposed rearwardly of the fluid receiving and deflecting means fordirecting a fluid stream upwardly relative to said saws to prevent finetrash from sifting downwardly therebetween.

5. In a cotton gin having a roll box and a battery of ginning sawstherebelow with ginning ribs disposed between the saws, a rearwardlyoffset head at the upper end of each rib providing a space adjacent thepoint at which the saw teeth pass from the roll box between the ribs andexteriorly of the contour of said box, a passage in the head fordirecting a fluid stream against said saw teeth in a direction oppositeto the rotation thereof to remove extraneous matter from the lintcarried thereby, and a recess formed in the head for receiving the fluidstream and being so'shaped that its walls confine and direct the fluidstream upwardly toward said saw teeth.

7 6. In a cotton gin having a roll box and a battery of ginning sawstherebelow with ginning ribs disposed between the saws, an enlarged headat the upper end of each rib having a recess in each lateral surface, aflange at the forward and lower margins of each recess, a fluid passagein the head rearwardly of its recesses, and ports for discharging thefluid fromthe passage into the rear portions of the recesses, wherebysaid fluid is confined and directed upwardly by the flange against thesaw teeth in a direction substantially opposite to the rotation thereoffor removing extraneous matter from the lint carried by said saw teeth.

7. The combination set forth in claim 6 wherein the lateral recesses andtheir marginal flanges are formed by a medial fin having forwardlydiverging lateral surfaces for directing the fluid toward said saws.

8. In a cotton gin having a roll box and a battery of ginning sawstherebelow with ginning ribs disposed between the saws, an enlarged headat the upper end of each rib having a recess in each lateral surface, aflange at the forward and lower margins of each recess, a fluid passagein the head rearwardly of its recesses, ports for discharging the fluidfrom the passage into the rear portions of the recesses, whereby saidfluid is .6 confined and directed upwardly by the flange against the sawteeth in a direction substantially opposite to the rotation thereof forremoving extraneous matter from the lint carried by said saw teeth, andan orifice extending substantially laterally from said passage forpreventing fine trash from sifting between adjacent ribs.

PRESSLEY E. HOPPER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 897,883 Dickson Sept. 8, 19082,219,402 Sanders Oct. 29, 1940 2,325,183 Hopper July 27, 1943

